Jean Toomer, born in 1894 in Washington D.C., became an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance best known for his book, Cane.
The son of two mixed-race parents, Toomer had a peripatetic upbringing and continued to move around to different universities as a young man studying agriculture, physical education, psychology, and literature.
In 1918, Toomer started writing short stories. In 1921, he traveled to the South for a teaching job. His time there sparked his imagination and resulted in his high modern, lyrical book Cane published in 1923. He continued to write but no other of his writing has had such a profound impact on literature.
There is currently much controversy about whether Toomer decided to "pass for white" in his later adulthood. See also Marcia Dawkins' response to the new assertions.
Of his heritage, Toomer wrote: "Racially, I seem to have (who knows for sure) seven blood mixtures: French, Dutch, Welsh, Negro, German, Jewish, and Indian. Because of these, my position in America has been a curious one. I have lived equally amid the two race groups. Now white, now colored. From my own point of view I am naturally and inevitably an American."
Toomer died in 1967.
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Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by writer Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to show that there is a long history of achievements of those involved in the Mixed experience. Please look for more profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May at Lightskinned-ed Girl, the blog! Thanks for reading. And check out some of the previous year's profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.
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